Vietnam (and back to Laos)

In what was to be the norm during my time in Vietnam, it was raining gently as I set off from the town of Tay Son. The temperature was just at the point where I didn’t need to put on my rain jacket, so it was quite pleasant to be riding in cooler conditions for a change.

Laos

After a long lie-in, I finally left my fan-cooled hotel. By now it was late in the morning, and hot and humid – enough to have me sweating while packing up the bike. I rode through the town of Nong Khai, heading towards the bridge over the Mekong – heading to Laos.

Sukhothai

I cycled away from Mae Sot, heading east. The roads were a stark contrast to those of Myanmar, a visual demonstration that Thailand is one of the region’s wealthier countries.

Myanmar Continued

I said goodbye to Jamie and set off cycling, gradually climbing on a pleasantly quiet road. On my left I could see Mt Popa, an extinct volcano that is a popular pilgrimage site for many Burmese.

Myanmar (Burma)

Jamie and I rode away from the border on a nice quiet road. There was very little traffic – and almost no trucks – and the people didn’t stare, but smiled and waved. Perhaps most importantly, there was no honking! Myanmar gave a good first impression.

Manipur

Night, Jamie and I were all headed in the same direction. Night was behind schedule, so he planned to take a bus, but Jamie and I set off cycling from Silchar together.

Meghalaya

To get from Bangladesh to Myanmar I would need to cross through India for a third time. This region is more mountainous and less populated, so I was looking forward to it much more than I had the other parts of India.

2020: The Year Ahead

It’s a new year, and one in which I have much to look forward to. It’s a long time since I’ve written about my plans, so I decided to use this opportunity to write an update on my intentions for 2020. As ever, this is not written in stone and is subject to all manner of changes!

Briefly in Bangladesh

A couple hours cycling brought me to the Bangladeshi border. I went to Indian customs and joined one of the longest queues I’ve ever seen. There must have been close to a thousand people. I was asked to leave my bike outside but, as I went to lock it up, some soldiers came along and told me to take my bike and go direct to immigration, skipping the queue. White privilege, I suppose.

Return to India

With Ross and Pax leaving Nepal via a different border, this was the point where we split up. I cycled out of Kathmandu alone, retracing my previous route for the first hour or so.